"High profile monstrosities, value-engineered shockers, buildings so ugly they freeze the heart - crap architecture continues its march across the UK.

Launched for the first time in 2006, the Carbuncle Cup is to the Stirling Prize what the Golden Raspberries are to the Oscars. So while the Riba searched for architecture's prime cuts, they set out to uncover the offal.

Nominations for the 2009 Carbuncle Cup – for the most hideous building completed in the last 12 months.

Either add your nomination to the storyat this link, or email bdonline@ubm.com telling them where the building is and why it deserves to win. Pictures are welcome."

Pics hereof Edinburgh`s most popular for award so far, oh it is the latest addition to Murrayburgh. Oh isn`t it a shame that his latest known locally as AM`s "Pube" on Leith Street isn`t completed yet so he could have had a double whammy.Though its been uncovered that his Cube was not an original idea (surprise surprise) but inspiration came from a visit to an Australian nightclub....

Thursday, 25 June 2009

"the Scottish film-maker said yesterday he would happily write a film about the "machinations and cynicism" he saw behind the project."

" Speaking during a visit to the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the director said: "Donald Trump gets off a plane and wanders off to a Scottish beach, declares how beautiful it is and wants to destroy it."

"Its an exciting time here in the Canongate. The campaign has been approached by a world famous film director who is setting their next film here in Scotland. Its caught their attention that Scotland, although it has its first SNP led government and has its eyes on independence, all is not well across the country.

All we are allowed to say at present is that the Save Our Old Town Campaign and the battle against Trump will be the main story lines. Other campaigns around the country will feature too.

It will be a 21st century Local Hero , but harder hitting with the power of big business, corruption in local and national politics and the Scottish people fighting for their rightful inheritance among the themes watch this space...."

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

The World Heritage Committee is currently meeting for its 33rd session in Seville, Spain from 22-30 June. During the session, the Committee will consider requests for the inscription of new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List and examine the state of conservation of sites already inscribed on the List. The Committee is chaired by H. E. Mrs María Jesús San Segundo, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO.

The World Heritage Committee consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, elected by the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention.

Unesco insists Capital must scrap £300m Caltongate scheme

"A £300 MILLION development in Edinburgh's historic Old Town has been thrown deeper into chaos after Unesco inspectors demanded council leaders have the whole scheme returned to the drawing board.

Councillors are set to face international condemnation at a world heritage summit in Seville next month after a damning report urged wholescale changes be made to the Caltongate scheme – even though it has received final approval from the Scottish Government."

" Leaked documents obtained by The Scotsman reveal that heritage inspectors are demanding a reprieve for two listed buildings threatened with demolition, the scrapping of a modern building which would have blocked views from Jeffrey Street, and a full review of how the development would impact on views from Calton Hill."

"The council is expected to face a major dilemma over the future of the site if Unesco's world heritage committee approves the report's recommendations, as expected. The local authority has had two other major developments called in for public inquiries within the past few months, as well as having to deal with a Unesco investigation triggered last summer."

UNESCO yesterday criticised Edinburgh council's handling of the Caltongate development and said the demolition of two listed buildings could have been avoided, The Scotsman can reveal.

Its European heritage chief, Dr Mechtild Rössler, condemned the council for allowing the London developer Mountgrange to draw up the initial blueprint for the huge Old Town site, by Waverley Station."

"Jim Lowrie, Edinburgh city council's planning leader, admitted the local authority could be left in a "tricky position" if the council's handling of Mountgrange was strongly criticised and asked for a response."

"However, Mountgrange has launched an attack on Unesco, the world heritage body, branding it an "irrelevance" and saying it is not interested in its views on the £300 million development." (did he really say that?)

The firm said it has no intention of postponing the start of work until after next summer's World Heritage summit, in Seville, discusses Edinburgh.

A spokesman Mark Cummings ofNever Beaten PR said a "dangerous precedent" would be set if a major developer had to wait until Unesco had delivered its judgment, and insisted that Mountgrange had no intention of changing its scheme, even if key criticisms were made by Unesco." Mountgrange in administration

Sunday, 21 June 2009

Today citizens of the republic carried out Guerilla Gardening in a bid to highlight the plight of public land, assets and facilities being left to rot.

The kids enjoyed pulling out the enormous weeds and everyone enjoyed a well deserved summer solstice tea party that could be heard down the Canongate

After a hard day's toil they ended their community gardening and clean up of the Canongate Venture by planting a Rowan tree.

For those that don't know the Rowan Tree is renowned to offer protection to a building and the people around it and specifically protection from bad people. It is said that removing or even damaging a rowan tree brings havoc and bad luck to those that remove it.

Saturday, 20 June 2009

This year's Reith Lectures on BBCRadio 4 will be delivered by political philosopher and Harvard University professor, Michael Sandel, Listen here

Mr Sandel, whose work has addressed issues such as ethics, democracy, and the erosion of community and moral values, will deliver a series of lectures under the title "A New Citizenship" addressing the "prospect for a new politics of the common good".

The prestigious lectures, which were last year delivered by Yale University professor Jonathan Spence on China, will be broadcast on Radio 4 and the BBC World Service in June.

The Reith Lectures began in 1948, delivered by the philosopher Bertrand Russell on the subject of "Authority and the Individual". Named after the BBC's first director general, John Reith, the lectures aim to encourage understanding and debate about issues of public interest.

Sandel said he hoped his lectures would prompt public discussion about the prospect for a "new politics of the common good".

"The Reith Lectures have a storied tradition of engaging the life of the mind and the public square," Sandel said. "At a time of political change and economic turmoil, we need new thinking about the common good.

"What, in an age of globalisation, are the moral limits of markets? What should be the place of moral and spiritual values in public life? How is biotechnology transforming our relation to nature and the environment?"

A professor of government at Harvard, his undergraduate course Justice - about moral and political philosophy - will be the basis of a 12-part public television series in the US in the autumn.

This year's lectures will be delivered in London on May 18, Oxford on May 21, Newcastle on May 26 and Washington DC in early June.

A screening of the film Smoke and Mirrors, a documentary, made in partnership with ‘Edinburgh Against Stock Transfer’ campaign group, documents their successful challenge to The City of Edinburgh Council’s plan to privatise all 23,000 of the city’s council homes. It considers the impact of gentrification programmes on working-class communities, and shows how a well-organised grass-roots, community-based struggle can challenge and defeat deeply unpopular policy decisions.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film maker Neil Gray.

Sunday, 14 June 2009

The OldTown Festival 2009 (15-28 June) is a lively two-week celebration of people and place. Storytelling, talks and tours, film, music, open days and family events at partner venues across Edinburgh’s OldTown explore the area’s rich history of homes and communities and showcase the OldTown’s wealth of cultural activity. The Festival is coordinated by the Scottish Storytelling Centre and is supported by Edinburgh World Heritage.

This years Old Town Festival is about`Home` with the stories of the Old Town`s unique houses and buildings, and the people who have made the Old Town their place.

Exhibition "A Test of Time" extracts from the Saltire Society`s recent "A Test of Time" travelling exhibition. This exhibition looks at the changing qualities of housing in Scotland over the past seventy years. It was based around interviews with residents of the Saltire award winning schemes throughout the past seven decades. There is material on show given by architects, planners and clients, to show a strong sense of what their designs were hoping to achieve and whether the occupants felt that they stood the 'test of time'.

Monday 15th June 6pm (60 mins)

"If Only We Had The Room" , features a series of films from the Scottish Screen archive, a snapshot of the lives of people in Edinburgh in the 1950s and If Only We Had the Room a look at the modernisation of tenement homes.

Friday 19th June 7pm (90mins)

A screening of the film Smoke and Mirrors, a documentary, made in partnership with ‘Edinburgh Against Stock Transfer’ campaign group, documents their successful challenge to The City of Edinburgh Council’s plan to privatise all 23,000 of the city’s council homes. It considers the impact of gentrification programmes on working-class communities, and shows how a well-organised grass-roots, community-based struggle can challenge and defeat deeply unpopular policy decisions.The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film maker Neil Gray.

Tuesday 23rd June 2pm (60mins)

Housing in the Old Town. Jim Johnson (former director of The Old Town Renewal Trust) gives an illustrated talk on the development of housing in the Old Town in the 20th Century.

Tuesday, 9 June 2009

Not so long ago there lived a council who cared so much for fancy schemes, they spent all the city’s money upon them, and on junkets and on rebranding the city and the like. They gave no thought to their citizens or to the affairs of their city. They had a new idea for every hour of the day and spent most of their time in the pages of the local papers so that everyone might see their wonderful projects.

One day there came to the city a carpetbagger called Manish Chande who had set himself up as a developer. He said he knew how to build the most wonderful development in the world. The materials and the architecture were marvellously beautiful, he said; but this project could not be seen by anyone who was stupid or unfit for their office.

"We must have lots of developments made from these materials and architecture," thought the council. "When the people see the development, we shall know the clever people from the dunces. That developer must be brought to us at once."

So the developer came to the city chambers. The council offered him a land deal so that he might begin his work without delay. The developer immediately set to work. They called for the worst architects, materials and the dodgiest PR firm they could find. They then worked steadily at convincing the city of their terrible plans.

Day after day the council could hear the rattling of the PR machine. They became very curious to see the wonderful masterplan and they decided to send someone to find how the developer and architects were getting on.

But they remembered that no one who was stupid or was unfit for his office

could see how marvellous the development was."We will send our faithful old Leader Donald Andersonto see it," thought the council. "He is a very clever man, and no one is more worthy of his office than he."

So good old Donald went into the room where the developer and architect sat with the masterplan.He stared and stared, and opened his eyes wide."Mercy on us!" he thought. "It’s monstrous” But he said nothing at all."Come a little closer," coaxed the architect. "Is not this a beautiful masterplan? And the buildings- are they not magnificent?" And he pointed to the concrete blocks. Poor old Donald put on his spectacles and bent over the plans, but he could see only a vision from hell!

"Mercy!" he said to himself. "Is it possible that I am unfit for my office? Certainly no one must know it. Am I a dunce? It will never do to say that I cannot see the beauty!""Well sir, what do you think of it?" asked the developer."Oh, it is charming - beautiful," said Donald, as he peered through his spectacles.

"The buildings are gorgeous and the layout is very fine. I shall tell the council that I am much pleased with your work." "We are very glad to hear you say so," said the developer and architects. And they went on talking of the masterplan. They had named it Caltongate, and described the peculiar layout. Donald listened carefully, for he wished to repeat to the Council all that was said.

Soon the developers began a consultation on the masterplan.

It was a sham but it was useful to say they had done it.

The council then sent an official Alan Henderson and the chair of the planning committee Trevor Davies to see the masterplan. But these men fared no better than their leader. They stood before the monstrous masterplan, and looked and looked and looked, but they didn’t see a beautiful development fitting for the World Heritage Site.

"Is this not magnificent masterplan?" asked the developers. And then they praised the gorgeous architecture and explained how it was a once in a generation opportunity for the city, which it certainly was not.

"Dear, dear!" thought Trevor and Alan. "Surely I am not stupid. It must be that I am unfit for the council." But they did not want to appear so and they praised the beautiful Caltongate."Ah!" said Trevor. "The design is most unusual; and the architecture is marvellous. I shall tell the Council what fine progress you are making."

Then all of the council knew that they must view the marvellous masterplan.They went to view it along with Trevor, Donald and Alan, who thinking that the others would see how monstrous it was, all began to cry out at once, "Look, everyone, do you see the beautiful design? And the buildings- aren’t they gorgeous?”"See!" the developer said. "There are the beautiful buildings! Here is the economic argument! It’s an all or nothing deal. You may act as if this will not affect the world heritage status. That is the beauty of it."

"What is this?" thought the Councillors. They could only see a monstrous development not right for the world heritage site! “Are we not fit to be councillors? Am we dunces? If that were known, we should be deposed.""Yes, yes, it is very pretty," said the councillors aloud. "We could not be better pleased!" They smiled and nodded their heads, and stared at the horrific masterplan.Their officials too, looked and looked, but saw only what the others saw.

Yet they all cried, "It is marvellous!" And the planners recommended that the council planning committee approve the Caltongate Masterplan.

Soon everyone in the city was talking about Caltongate.

Mountgrange placed ornamental cows around the city with their name on them so everyone could see what wonderful developers they were.

So then the people in the city were allowed to gaze at the masterplan for they too wanted to see the magical Caltongate"How handsome the Councils Caltongate is!" they all cried. "What a perfect fit for the World Heritage Site! What marvellous architecture"

"But it is horrible!" cried a resident in the Old Town."The resident tells the truth," said her neighbours quietly.And the people began to whisper to one another what the resident had said. "It is horrible! A resident says it is horrible!" Soon all the people and the city’s heritage bodies were saying aloud, "But it is horrible!"

And the Council, hearing what they said, shivered, for they knew that their words were true. But it would never do to stop the process; and so they held themselves stiffer than ever.

And behind them, their officials held their heads higher than ever, and took greater pains to justify the Masterplan.

and then they held their hands high in the air and approved it. They did not dare let it be known that they saw a vision from hell.

The developers then pretended to listen again, to the local community, while they drew up the detailed plans. They sent out more promotion all over the city. They wined and dined whoever they had to and Alistair Darling gave money towards their underground heating although this will not serve the peoples housing.

"How well the city will do with this new development." says the Chamber of Commerce? "What a becoming style! What beautiful economic arguments! They are indeed fit for the world heritage site!" The Chamber gave the developer Manish Chande a key position, and the architect was told he could redesign the entire city.

In the following year after the masterplan was approved, Donald and Trevor were not re-elected. But alas Trevor carries on his love for Caltongate in the local press from time to time and Donald now works for the developers’ infamous PR firm PPS. Alan Henderson is still in office and has just recommended that the new planning committee approve the individual plans on the 6th of February.

On the 6th February, the new planning committee continued with the pretence, only two of the councillors joined in the cries of the people Cllrs Burgess and Keir

When the new council leader Jenny Dawe was elected in May 2007 she branded designs for the landmark building in the Caltongate development "grotesque and hideous", raising further questions about the future of the £300 million project.Articlehere

But now she too is seeing the Council`s New Masterplan -Council leader Jenny Dawe said: "The Caltongate development will breathe new life into a neglected part of the Old Town.".Article

"A decision on the Caltongate scheme has been considered and agreed by the planning committee. We are of course aware of the comments made by Unesco in their draft report and we await the outcome of the World Heritage Committee later this month."

Saturday, 6 June 2009

The elephant in the room is of course Caltongate, no one utters the word in council corridors any more, we hear, they are hoping it will go away, but in sunny Spain this year it is to come back and , well, we all know what elephants do...Why did Caltongate not get a public inquiry?

In the republic we can`t help thinking that the Council have obviously not passed any exams in how to defend their decisions to approve bad developments, perhaps they should pay a visit to the Argument Clinic

With today`s headline -

Unesco insists Capital must scrap £300m Caltongate scheme

in The Scotsmanthey must be scratching their heads on what to say next

from todays piece -

"A £300 MILLION development in Edinburgh's historic Old Town has been thrown deeper into chaos after Unesco inspectors demanded council leaders have the whole scheme returned to the drawing board.

Councillors are set to face international condemnation at a world heritage summit in Seville next month after a damning report urged wholescale changes be made to the Caltongate scheme – even though it has received final approval from the Scottish Government."

" Leaked documents obtained by The Scotsman reveal that heritage inspectors are demanding a reprieve for two listed buildings threatened with demolition, the scrapping of a modern building which would have blocked views from Jeffrey Street, and a full review of how the development would impact on views from Calton Hill."

"The council is expected to face a major dilemma over the future of the site if Unesco's world heritage committee approves the report's recommendations, as expected. The local authority has had two other major developments called in for public inquiries within the past few months, as well as having to deal with a Unesco investigation triggered last summer."

Yes, they certainly do

This week plans to demolish the art deco Odeon Cinema approved by the council were called in by the Scottish Government,see here

and of course there is thepublic inquirythat ended yesterday on plans approved by council for the Haymarket Horror Hotel

Then there is the matter of the council not getting the money they are owed from developers...

Meggetland - "A NEW community hall is set to be mothballed after council officials failed to collect £200,000 to pay for it from a now defunct housebuilder".article here

a council blinded by the pie in the sky promises from the big boys and the bling of it all...they think they are big business but in reality they have not a clue, how would they fair on the Apprentice we wonder...thing is though its a capital city and people`s lives they are playing with and its for real.

Wednesday, 3 June 2009

Here in the republic it has got us thinking the questions we need answers to, will appear soon as it seems to be the order of the day...

In todays piece in The Scotsman on Herb Stovel giving his expert opinion in the Haymarket Inquiry, many in the comments on the article are asking these very questions

Remember these

1. Complaints have been made to both the Competition DG and the Internal market DG of the EU Commission, because of the extent that Mountgrange Caltongate Ltd may have been provided with privileged access and offered exclusive consideration in pursuance of its commercial objectives, it follows that competing bidders, both actual and potential, have been unlawfully discriminated against, and public resources unlawfully exposed to risk in this case. Caltongate Given A Black Mark

2. A clear breach of Article 7 of the applicable code of conduct as set by the Standards Commission (Scotland) in the case of Planning Committee convenor Jim Lowrie.The code states that a breach has been committed where a planning committee member expresses a prior public view ahead of a decision being taken, or where a member has lobbied, either overtly or covertly, for a particular interest group or to the commercial benefit of a particular applicant. In Article 11th Oct 07 it says

“City planning leader Cllr Jim Lowrie said: "I really don't feel that we are that far behind Glasgow in terms of the speed of the planning process, but the problem in Edinburgh is the number of historic buildings and the need to address heritage concerns. "However, we don't want to fall behind and it's very important we listen to organisations like the chamber. "We have to get big developments like Caltongate up and running as soon as we can."

Given the views expressed by Councillor Lowrie in the Edinburgh Evening News of 11th October 2007 there was clear evidence of such a breach in the public domain, and in the circumstances the convenor should have been removed from his office with immediate effect.

The Council’s failure to apply article 7 of the code in this instance would appear to call into question the validity of the vote and subsequent award of the planning consent to Mountgrange Caltongate Ltd, and should be reviewed as a matter of urgency.

The economic relationship between the council and the developer in this case has the characteristics of an institutionalised public-private partnership.

which questions the fact that the Department of Trade and Industry, when it was being headed by the present Chancellor, Alistair Darling, assisted with the funding for an investigation into the project’s proposed heating system.

5. The actions of Donald Anderson during his period as council leader should also be scrutinised, given his individual relationship with Mountgrange’s Mr Manish Chande.Champagne Donation Under Fire

6. The very real prospect of the loss of World Heritage status for the city, see Dresden’s recent experience, arising from a proposal to build a bridge over the River Elbe.More Here

7. And a question that so many people are asking - why is it that one architect, Allan Murray, seems to be involved with virtually every key project within the World Heritage Site, as well as Caltongate?Caltongate or Edinburgh Must Die